Lowering The Bar
by YourConscience813
Summary: Malik was always considered the smart one, Altaïr knew this well. Then why was Altaïr acting strangely after receiving his test? Modern AU. Read and Review.


Lowering The Bar. This is a modern alternate universe story. Just went through a terrible fight or somewhat breakup- I don't know what we are anymore- so I'm in a piss poor mood so please lighten up my day with a review of some sort... Anyhoo, this is based off of my class during the end of the school year… Guess who is basically Altaïr in this? The full explanation is given at the bottom because it sort of gives away the point of the story. By the way, did anyone watch E3 on G4?

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Assassin's Creed or any of its characters.

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><p>Malik was always considered to be the smarter one, Altaïr knew this well. That is why he slept half of the time during his classes, knowing no matter what he would never compare to his friend. He found no point in trying- it wasn't as if they were in some sort of competition, after all. Usually Malik rolled his eyes at the lack of effort but he knew Altaïr was smart enough to hold is own in his classes.<p>

But he never compared to Malik.

This fact caused Altaïr to twiddle his thumbs out of boredom when the professor explained the complex scoring system for their newest graded test. The impossible test. Every course has it- it usually was given near the end of the year- where it proves everyone in the class is less than perfect and will suffer due to their lack of perfection. Altaïr never cared when the class looked over their grades. Some would cheer while others would scowl. His expression would stay stoic, no matter what. He simply didn't care. The grade he got was final and there was no need to become an emotion wreck due to a tiny marking on a piece of paper.

After awhile, Malik received his paper and he looked it over carefully. His brows were furrowed together in concentration, scanning over the side notes that the professor wrote about the final essay on the back. Suddenly, a broad smile reached across his face. It was one of triumph. Satisfied. Altaïr personally loved that smile and wished he would smile more often. It made his own lips slightly turn upwards upon seeing the expression.

A few minutes passed where he idly watched over his friend marvel over his own intellect. Once he became bored, he leaned from his seat towards his friend slowly, making sure not to make any sudden movements. The small smile from earlier turned into a wicked grin on Altaïr's features, a mischievous glint shining bright in his golden eyes.

'_Just an inch more.' _He bit his bottom lip in anticipation, noticing how close he was and how distracted the other had become. It must really be a good grade for him to be mentally giving himself a round of applause for his excellence…

Right as his fingertips were about to touch the corner of the paper, the muscles in his fingers twitched. Altaïr groaned mentally. Instantly, Malik was pulled from his thoughts from the sudden movement and turned to see Altair frozen, leaning halfway out of his desk in a motion to snatch the test form. Their gazes locked. With a perplexed expression, he flipped the paper over onto the desk rapidly.

Oh? So this is the game he wanted to play? Their eyes continued their intense stare down. No one else in the classroom paid any mind to them, all of them were used to Altaïr's antics. In their mind, it was just the two of them. Only Altaïr and Malik.

A tiny smirk played at Altaïr's lips as he continued his mission carefully, still holding his friend's gaze. Slowly, fingers crept across the desk towards the paper… They were almost touching the end were the other quickly reacted…

_Violently_.

Altaïr hissed out a curse after his fingers were smashed from the other's fist. He pulled away to sit back into his seat, glaring down at his reddened hand.

What is with this game of keep-away? Malik knew he received the better grade out of the two. However, he always insisted on hiding the grade until he made sure he was triumphant. Why would he? Did he actually expect Altaïr to defeat him in the classroom? In courses Malik knew everything about?

Altaïr sunk back into his seat, gently gnawing on his fingers with little-to-none interest. Malik was being childish over the test. It was just a test. It wasn't as if it meant anything. _'Oh, but tests are very important,' _Malik would retort. _'They show how well you understand the material in the class. It helps a person know what level they are on compared to the next… And it also marks who is the best-of-the-best of a certain subject…'_

If a test's results show the level of understanding in a course, then shouldn't a person be able to take a test multiple times if they fail? Shouldn't they wish to success and understand the subject matter? Shouldn't classes go at the student's pace of learning? Why would a person become upset if they fail since they simply did not understand?

A paper was placed facedown on the desk in front of Altaïr. _That _was never a good sign. He watched as a grin grew on his friend's face, noticing the professor's reaction when handing him the test. Altaïr shrugged, flipping the paper over and reading the score off the top.

As he first read his score, his expression was blank as always.

Then his lips parted in bewilderment…

A small laugh escaped after that…

Finally, he flipped the paper over onto the desk as it was before. His expression calmed before he turned to face a curious Malik. "What is your score?"

His friend cursed slightly, "You tell me first."

"I don't see the point of these games…" He was met with a sour glare from Malik, instantly making him change his mind on stalling. With an insignificant sigh, he nodded to his request. "A three overall with a three on the essay…"

A satisfied smile settled on Malik's lips. "Six overall with a seven on the essay."

"Congratulations."

For the next few minutes, Malik talked to his friend, flipping through his own test to comment on his achievements as well as his mistakes. Altair listened closely, watching as Malik smiled in content one minute and then shook his head in disbelief the next. He rested his head in his hands, leaning closely to catch every word the other spoke. It seemed foolish to act as if his life depended on the words his friend vocalized but he liked to see him happy. Also he liked the attention…

As a hand crept towards his own paper, he snapped out of his daze to grab the test from the other.

Malik's expression deadpanned in confusion. "Um… May I see your test?"

"No."

At the quick response, his eyebrow quirked upwards. "No?"

"No."

Malik settled back down into his seat quietly. A frown replaced the smile from earlier as he pondered over why Altaïr would hide his test from him. Maybe he was lying about his grade? Surely Altaïr did not do any worse than a three? The scale only went up to nine and if he received worse than a three that meant it would considerably drop his GPA of the class. It must be bad if Altaïr would actually _care_ about the grade…

He felt Malik's eyes burning into his skin. Awkwardly, he pulled his hood up, feeling too uncomfortable sitting in the classroom underneath a severe amount of tension.

As well as Malik being the smarter one of the two, he also was more charismatic. He was capable of sparking a conversation out of nothing in particular and could make friends easily. People were naturally attracted to him due to this and he never felt awkward out in public. Now Altaïr, he was _very _different. Unless he was speaking with close friends of his, he would shut himself off or mutter out something in annoyance. People would watch him with interest but would never approach him. Why? Because his appearance sometimes causes people to assume he is some psychotic killer.

This labeled Altaïr as _very_ socially-awkward.

They stayed motionless until the bell rang, marking the end of class. Altaïr jumped from his seat, grabbing the test form and stuffing it uncaringly into his messenger bag. Impatiently, he then jumped over his own desk to run down a non-crowded aisle to escape the sight of the other male.

Watching the scene unfold, a majority of the students stopped to gawk at the hooded one. A few of them whispered comments on how strange the guy was and how he was considered, 'the handsome freak.' Usually these comments would make Malik die of laugher. However he only sighed this time, facepalming himself before gathering his own supplies and neatly packing them inside his book bag.

As he stepped out of the classroom, he came face to face with another being. He smiled gently at the other's confused expression. "Is there something wrong with Altaïr?"

"He claims it is nothing, Kadar… So we shall leave it at that." The words made his brother shrug and only brought annoyance rushing back to Malik. Altaïr did not truly claim it to be anything but if he would have asked, he was sure Altaïr would have muttered under his hood about nothingness and nonsense… Sometimes he thought he knew him a little _too _well. "Are you ready to head home?"

"Well…" Oh great, another bright idea. Kadar never was ready to go home to relax unlike his brother. He was full of energy, always wanted to go and explore his options. And explore other things as well… "I was talking with some people and I heard of this new restaurant. They said it was really sweet and it was right down by the-"

Malik did not need to know the rest, he already knew from the innocent, childlike, puppy-dog look on his brother's face that they were going. No. Matter. What.

Kadar continued to talk as they walked off campus, heading towards downtown. His brother would listen idly, occasionally nodding along with the enthusiastic youth and sometimes giving his two-cents when he heard a keyword amongst the pointless jabbering. They made it halfway to their destination when a shadow caught the older one's attention.

Rapidly, he whipped his head around to face their stalker and frowned upon recognizing the figure. "So you grace us with your presence again, Altaïr?"

He shrugged nonchalantly as a reply. His hood was pushed back as the wave of uneasiness decayed over the short amount of time. "I regretted not stopping to say hello to Kadar after leaving class in such a rush…" The golden orbs flickered over towards the youngest of the group. "Do forgive me, I was being extremely rude."

Malik fought the urge to punch his teeth out right then-and-there…

His brother only laughed at the other's apology. "No worries, you looked preoccupied so I did not feel insulted." A large smile grew on Altaïr's face as he nodded to the reply. "You should join us for dinner, however. I'm sure that my brother would not mind you coming along."

Now Malik was holding back from punching both of their faces in.

"A very gracious offer that I humbly accept. Thank you."

They made it to the restaurant with Malik tailing the two chitchatting ones with narrowed eyes. He was already slightly upset with Altaïr for hiding something from him… but now he was getting a little _too_ friendly with his brother.

Kadar admired the man like he was some sort of superhero; Altaïr knew this. He had the youth wrapped around his finger, ready and willing to do anything to please the older one. It did not help that Altaïr was the type of person to control people for entertainment, and it did not matter who is concerned. There were no 'crossing the lines' when it came to him. This sort of 'control' was one thing Altaïr was the master of where Malik did not stand a chance against. Sometimes he even found himself captured in his friend's spell. This caused Malik's senses to be thrown into overdrive if his friend was anywhere near his brother.

They took their seats, Kadar sliding into the booth first without much thought. Before Altaïr could slide into the seat right next to him, Malik slung his book bag and placed it next to his brother. Altaïr quirked an eyebrow at the action but then quickly took his seat across from Kadar with Malik without a question.

"They were right, there's so much to choice from…" Kadar flipped through the menu in amazement before glancing up with a board smile. "I don't even know what to get to drink. What are you two ordering?"

"A simple green tea will be enough for me…" Malik answered thoughtfully after looking over the other complex choices.

He groaned, "Er, why go simple?" That earned him a deadly glare from his brother. "I don't want to go simple… I want to try something new and bold and… I just don't want to waste it if I don't like it though…"

"We could always split something if you want," Altaïr mused quietly as he flipped through the menu until he found what he was looking for. An evil grin settled on his face as he passed the menu to the other, his finger marking what he intended to order. "I mean, if you do not like it then we can always go for something else."

The drink made Kadar grin as well, which was not a good sign on his brother's part. As Altaïr pulled his menu back, the younger one nodded to the request. "Okay, that's sounds great actually."

Malik snatched the menu from the other, looking over what they decided upon. Again, he was ticked that Altaïr was hiding something but now Kadar too? His eyes scanned over the items and then settled on the area where his friend pointed to earlier. The two others watched as he gave them both venom-laced stares. A finger was pointed to his brother first, "You are not ordering this." Then one at his friend, "And you should know better than to try to get my brother to consume alcohol. He is not of legal age!"

"He is… In a sense…"

"Not from the laws of this country!"

Altaïr backed out of the argument when the waitress arrived to take their orders. Malik ordered for all of them causing there to be one cup of green tea, one glass of water, and nothing for Altaïr. When the waitress then tried to ask if he would like anything to drink, Malik dismissed her commenting on how he will never be quenched and there was no use in wasting his money on buying him a drink…

There was an awkward silence, followed by Kadar quietly excusing himself to the bathroom. Altaïr contemplated whether he should ask if he needed any help but thought against it, knowing his friend would surely lose control and kill him in a public area. He sighed and watched Kadar disappear into the bathroom. Slowly he shifted his attention towards Malik who had been staring at him strangely for the past few moments.

Curiously, Altaïr touched his face, checking to see if anything was there that shouldn't be there. After awhile he turned back to his friend. "What?"

He hummed, "Nothing."

The short reply made him raise an eyebrow. "You are mad at me?"

"Yes." Altaïr frowned and turned away, wanting to put his hood up again to shield his face from the other's watchful eyes. However, Malik's hand grasped the fabric and tugged at his hood, making them face each other. "It can be forgiven, Altaïr. Just you know how I feel about you…" His eyes wandered off towards the bathrooms, "…And my brother…"

"I don't see anything wrong with him living a little." The grip on his hood became tighter and he could not help but grin. "Unless you are bothered by something else…?"

"What are you muttering about?"

Something flashed in his friend's eyes; something he had not seen in a long time. The sinister smirk broke out from the sly grin as his hand placed itself upon the other's knee. A gentle teasing squeeze made Malik jump and watch the other close the distance between them in a soft embrace. Altaïr nuzzled against the side of Malik's neck, whispering tenderly, "Maybe you're just jealous?"

At first, he did not know how to respond. He was not embarrassed or nervous about the closeness, Altaïr had done this before. Malik experienced this treatment firsthand for many years; the teasing and playful flirting. It never went past that… But… Was that new cologne? Malik breathed in the scent, leaning into his friend's hold. He felt the other smirk against his neck, causing him to sigh. "You smell nice."

His was giving in- the great Malik Al-Salf was giving in to his advances? So easily? No shouts or protests? No hits or punches? No threats of castrations or other mortifying live-changing surgeries?

An eyebrow quirked upwards.

_Wait a second…_

In an instant, the warmth and comfort was gone, a loud _thud _sounded behind him, and Malik smugly waved a sheet of paper in front of his nose. He blinked, wondering what just happened…

_Wait… A second…_

It all clicked into place.

"No!" His hand shot forward for the paper, missing by inches, only accomplishing in banging his knee and side against the table. By this time, all eyes in the restaurant were on their table, curiously observing the interactions of the two young men. Cursing, he clutched at his self-inflicted injuries as he watched a large, dominate smirk grace his friend's lips. "How did you- When did you-What the _hell_, Malik." Another failed attempt to grasp the item caused the smirk to become even more conceited. "Give it back!"

"Have a hard time sharing, Altaïr?" He pulled the test back as the other made another grab at it. "Why are you so persistent in hiding your grade? What is there to hide between friends? Surely you did not do any worse than you already said you did… I know you are smarter than that…" Altaïr's jaw dropped as he continued his 'speech' and he looked as if he was about to interrupt but Malik carried on, "You just simply do not care at all… Nor do you put effort in anything you are not interested in! But no matter the grade, Altaïr, you're still my friend."

Open. Close. Open. No, this isn't a dream. Altaïr's eyebrows shot up to an unnatural height, not exactly knowing how to respond. "Uh… Malik…"

"No, let me continue. You know that I'll always see you as the same Altaïr, so there is no need to hide the stupid little grade from me. It was a hard test, I will admit. You should still feel open enough to share your failures just as much as your achievements- because I'll understand either way because, Altaïr, I…"

A pause.

"You…?"

Did he read that right?

"Malik…?"

Blood rushed to his face.

"Altaïr…" Kadar carefully sat back down at the table, his eyes anxiously scanning his brother up and down, sensing something was obviously wrong. It looked as if he was going through cardiac arrest. "Um… Is my brother alright?"

Altaïr was hiding his face in his hands, deciding on whether he should laugh or cry from the situation. Glancing up, he motioned towards the kitchen near the back of the restaurant. "How about you go check our order for those drinks?"

"O-okay…"

A fist hit the table as Kadar began to stand, making him jump in surprise while the other only turned to the source with a stoic expression. Malik set the test down on the surface, looking it up and down. Examining ever detail of it. Eyebrows were furrowed as he carefully analyzed the handwriting and notes from their professor- completely and utterly confused. He couldn't even think straight…

A calming breath escaped slowly.

Then…

"_What_ the _f_-"

"Family restaurant!" His brother quickly sat back down at the table, not convinced that he should leave anytime soon. "Family restaurant… Just saying."

Malik instantly snapped his attention to the silent one, completely ignoring his younger brother, face flushed and burning with an indescribable embarrassment. "What is wrong with you?" When the other did not answer, he asked again more firmly. "What _the hell _is wrong with you, Altaïr? How did you-" He was at a loss for words, only able to get his point across by pointing at the test form in front of him. Shaking his head, he sighed, "Wow… Just wow…"

He shrugged.

Only accomplishing in agitating Malik further…

"What are you acting like _this_? Do you not realize what you've done?" Irritated, he cut Altaïr off before he could answer. "Of course you don't! So why would you hide this from me? Hm? Why, Altaïr? Why in the world would you hide this… this… this _stupid _test grade from me?"

Finally, he had enough. His hand gripped the other's shoulder, silencing him from the boisterous rant immediately. Their gazes locked, both practically glaring daggers at the other. Kadar was contemplating hiding under the table for safety. However, Altaïr relaxed his body language to show he meant no harm, only that he strongly meant what he was about to say. "I did not tell you… Because I enjoy seeing you smile."

_Silence._

Kadar accidentally let a small _"D'aw…" _escape, too caught up in the moment…

Malik's eye twitched.

"I…" The tone was softer, less threatening, but Altaïr knew better than to put his guard down. "I do not appreciate you hiding things from me…"

"I'm sorry." Altaïr grasped the other's chin gently, carefully caressing the skin. "You can't blame me for wanting to see you happy."

Before he could reply, the waitress came back with their drinks. Kadar kindly thanked the young woman, giving her a charmingly innocent smile that caused her to giggle and blush feverishly before retreating. Altaïr swiftly kicked him from under the table, "What? I'm just being nice!"

It took a few moments, but finally Malik sighed and calmed under Altaïr's hold. "Yeah well… It's just a stupid test grade…" His eyes narrowed as he gave the test a stare down. "A stupid, stupid test grade…"

"We came here to relax, Malik." Altaïr slid his arm around his friend, giving an encouraging squeeze. "Our drinks are here and you need to keep an eye on me incase I somewhat _accidentally _order a different drink for your brother..."

An elbow was roughly shoved into his side, causing Altaïr to gasp out a curse. However, his friend surprisingly did not move out of his hold but rather settled closer with a stratified smirk. After the pain went away, Altaïr smirk down at his friend and passed Malik his green tea.

"Hey Altaïr?" Kadar received a hum in response as he continued to curiously look through the other's test papers. "How did you receive a perfect score? Especially on the essay? You forgot your thesis… and an introduction paragraph… and a conclusion… and specific proof to prove your point…" He glanced up with wide confused eyes, "You wrote a perfect essay without _correctly writing a proper essay_!"

Eventually, the three were kicked out because _someone_ ignored the meaning of 'family restaurant' once again.

As Altaïr watched Malik rush away from the restaurant with fuming anger, he couldn't help the large smile that formed on his face. Flipping his hood back up, he and Kadar walked a few paces behind the infuriated one. Once they were far enough away, Kadar sheepishly asked again, "How? How were you able to do it?"

Without moving his gaze from Malik, he answered, "They are either lowering the bar for me in the classroom… Or I've just accomplished the impossible."

Kadar paused, moving his line of sight to his brother as well. A soft smile soon worked its way to his features. "Anything is possible, Altaïr. You just have to put the right amount of effort into it."

At that, Altaïr's smile turned sadistic as a plan formulated in his mind. Kadar did not even have a chance to ask before the man ran up behind his brother, pulled him close, and then kissed him passionately as if he didn't have a care in the world. Then, just as quick, he ran off in the opposite direction, leaving Malik in a confused state in the middle of the street.

After a moment of reflecting on what happened, Malik clutched his fists and ran after his friend at full speed until they both disappeared from Kadar's view.

He couldn't help but smile at Altaïr's antics though, even though it was his brother he had just kissed. However, he could only hope that something good would rise from this mess…

Anything is possible.

Or Malik could throw Altaïr in front of a bus.

Kadar gulped before running after the two.

_Anything_ is _possible_…

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><p>-End of Oneshot- Yeah, I'm a student who never actually… um… tries… Because I'm lazy and I think I should learn on my own pace to where I can actually let the information sink in. Plus none of the other students expect me to be smarter than them… Until my English teacher announced that I had one of the highest scores on this one assignment [ actually it was exactly like Altaïr's score where it lacked everything but still was one of the highest] and then everyone was pissed that the girl who never tries kicked their asses.<p>

Please tell me if there is anything I can improve with. I read through it, but it's difficult to proofread my own work sometimes…

I must say this, I do enjoy making Kadar the caring, compassionate troll of a brother…

Also, just a few minutes before posting this, my finger almost received the Altair treatment. Yeah, almost chopped the damn thing off. My. Freaking. Bad.

Review is you wish, tell me what your thinking… Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?

YourConscience813


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